The 13th Annual Homelessness Marathon will originate from Detroit, MI.

At any given moment, there are at least 13,000 to 14,000 homeless people in Detroit, of whom 60% are families with children. Shelters there cannot keep up (in 2002, well before the current economic crisis, the shortfall was already estimated at 7500 beds per night), and the situation is completely out of control. For example, Alternatives For Girls, a Detroit non-profit that tries to keep homeless young women between the ages of 15 and 20 from a life on the streets, reports that last year it had to turn away 800 otherwise qualified candidates for shelter because no beds were available.

Worse yet, the framers of Detroit's "10 Year Plan To End Homelessness" acknowledge that their plan will not accomplish its stated purpose. The plan's "Expected Ten Year Outcomes" include, "Increased funding dedicated to long-term solutions" and "Increased numbers moving into permanent housing," but there is no expectation that homelessness in Detroit will actually come to an end. In other words, Detroit's plan to end homelessness is actually a plan to leave thousands of people on the streets!

"We chose Detroit," explains the Homelessness Marathon's founder, Jeremy Weir Alderson, "because it is the center of America's meltdown. American jobs were shipped abroad with nothing in place for the American workers who were losing them. Surely the American people ought to look at what created this social disaster and ask if the nation might not be better served on a different course."

The broadcast will originate from 12025 Woodrow Wilson St. in Detroit, a building in the Cass Community Social Services complex. Homeless people will be gathered there so that they can speak directly to the nation. The broadcast will also feature the voices of diverse experts, callers from around the country and, if possible, politicians.

WHFR, 89.3 FM in Dearborn, Michigan, the radio station of Henry Ford Community College, will be the on-air host of the broadcast. Other participating Detroit area radio stations will include WHPR, 88.1 FM, in Highland Park, Michigan, and CJAM, 91.5 FM in Windsor, Ontario.